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Italian invasion of Albania | |||||||
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Part of the interwar period | |||||||
Column of Italian forces in Albania. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Benito Mussolini Alfredo Guzzoni Giovanni Messe Ettore Sportiello |
Zog I Xhemal Aranitasi Abaz Kupi Mujo Ulqinaku † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22,000 soldiers 400 aircraft[1] 2 battleships 3 heavy cruisers 3 light cruisers 9 destroyers 14 torpedo boats 1 minelayer 10 auxiliary ships 9 transport ships |
8,000 soldiers[2] 5 aircraft 3 torpedo boats | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Possibly 700 dead (according to Fischer)[3] 12–25 dead (Italian claim)[3][4] 97 wounded[4] |
Likely more than 700 dead (according to Fischer)[5] 160 dead and several hundreds wounded (according to Pearson)[4] 5 aircraft 3 torpedo boats |
Events leading to World War II |
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The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini. Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler King Zog I went into exile in neighboring Greece, and the country was made a part of the Italian Empire as a protectorate in personal union with the Italian Crown.
Albanian casualties may have been higher.